"Thoughts on CincyCon and Some CY6 Games" Topic

Attended CincyCon yesterday and enjoyed some Check Your 6 games. My thoughts on the blog:

link

I was at Cincy con Friday and Saturday. It is a great midsized show. What Darryl, a man who has helped organize countless cons in Ohio, said is spot on. There were a lot of air games. It looked like aviation day in a hanger. The flea market was well stocked with bargains and the vendors had such a great variety of products, As Darryl mentioned the kitchen was hopping. Great food and reasonably priced. The guys who run this are a dedicated bunch who do not get the recognition they deserve. I had a great time. H

I concur with Darryl. The venue is about 45 minutes from my house, so an easy trip.

I admit to not knowing the venue cost or the gate money, but as someone who has been involved in organizing regional cons, I feel the organizers really need to look at pricing overall, and consider some intermediate pricing steps. I haven't attended this con in a number of years, but I went down to try a set of rules that I have read about a lot on TMP and to see some people that I don't see a lot of, so I bit the bullet and paid the 30 bucks. That said, my teenage son would have liked to play the game as well, but I am not paying $60 USD for that, so I didn't even tell him about it. I went down last year and told the desk people that I didn't want to play any games, I just wanted to say "Hi" to a few people I knew and shop the dealer area. Nope, you can't come in without paying full freight. Okay. I will just leave. Have a nice day.

For what is essentially a giant garage or warehouse, the acoustics are very good. You can easily hear the folks you are gaming with, and the other games are not a distraction. Lighting is also good. As mentioned, some decent hot food on-site. I spent a little money at the flea market and in the dealer area. I would like to run a game some time, but March in general is a very bad time for me based on the operational tempo of my job.

When we used to run Rally and then Advance the Colors, we had a weekend and a daily price. Might be nice to do that at CincyCon, but it is their show and my suggestion is just that. I did see someone who had paid ask if his girlfriend could go in, without paying, and they let her in…and then I saw her playing in a game, so there's that.

I would consider offering a "kids are free" option as well, say for 17 and younger. The hall I was in was mostly old men (and I am one), and we could use an injection of youth.

Hank and Joe, it was good seeing both of you yesterday.

Just for information men Little Wars is $60 USD for the weekend early bird special going up to $75 USD at the door. Daily is $45 USD early bird and going to $55 USD at the door. They do have a $5 USD shopper badge. I am not complaining but costs are really rising these days.

79thPA I would love to bite the $30 USD buck bullet!

Keep in mind though that CincyCon is not Little Wars – much smaller and has a complete sweep of gaming, from boardgames to RPG to miniatures. It is a nice regional convention, but not in the same league as Little Wars. I like the $5.00 USD shopping option!

@paul, you are comparing apples to oranges, and that just doesn't work.

@paul, you are comparing apples to oranges, and that just doesn't work.

And will not bring in more people either at those prices! I do not like the idea of paying for the privilege to spend money! If such is a problem then keep the dealer's area separate from the gaming area. Bet you also charged a premium for the vendors as well? Getting revenue from the vendors AND from just those who want to spend money in the vendor's area, too? One has to question the motives; Bring gamers together to enjoy each other's company or make a profit from all of the attendees? If the venue is too expensive then find another! We hold 2 historical cons a year here in Colorado and do not have to charge no $20 USD-30 + per attendee! Our ranks are growing, too!

Okay I did not mean to stir everybody up.

I have nothing to do with organizing Little Wars Dye4minis.

So the Seven Years War Association convention is coming up on the first weekend in April. It is a three day affair attracts about 90 gamers and costs I think $40 USD to $45 USD for the weekend. Dealer tables are $20 USD each but they are more like an on going flea market tables. I got one this year to sell off extra stuff.

My question is what is a price point for entry to a convention?

I think it depends on what is being offered. Number of games, dealers, venue, etc. But, a weekend pass should be around $25 USD and a Saturday entry at $15. USD If a con does not attract enough gamers to cover costs at those rates, then I am with Tom, try to secure a cheaper venue.

Back when I was helping to organize Advance the Colors, we went with the hotel approach to attract out of town guests. We were always able to break even, but then the hotels would jack up the prices on us. But there seems to be enough halls and such places out there that breaking even should be manageable.

Hi, just a heads up. Pre-reg is 25.00.

Thanks.

John

Hi, John. Pre-reg is always a good thing but for many, work and family schedules can be moving targets. I therefore demur from making a financial outlay to attend unless my situation I can be 90% sure I can make it. At the door prices indeed should be higher than pre-reg, but within affordable limits.

Even as a vendor at our Ghengis and Tacticon cons, (Attactix), we worked for Denver Gamers Assn to stop charging to enter the dealer's area. Attendance went up because as a visitor badge was issued, people went back to obtain a paid attendance badge so they could play. Once they saw the games laid out and got to ask questions of the gamemasters, they got excited and paid the entry fee. (Guess people don't want to pay for something sight unseen!) Staffers and gamemasters enforced paid participation badge only on the game floor. The use of impulse sales can work for you if properly used. Can't if you erect walls keeping potential gamers out.

Well…. as I sit here "completely exhausted" I really should just sit this thread out and let it go away but I feel compelled(God knows why) to mention one or two hopefully helpful things… and then I promise I will not respond again or do a back and forth here… If you have helpful suggestions or questions please message me or go to our website and hit the contact us icon… I promise your messages will be read, discussed, and heard!

To add to what John mentioned… pre-reg is $25.00 USD but GMs are completely FREE regardless of what they put on, how long there event is, or how many players… also Volunteers get a FREE weekend badge for just helping us in any capacity they can for 3 hours.

I would suggest if you are $ sensitive(and I get it) please come help us by being part of any process of presenting our amazing show! Trust me, we need your help!!!

Secondly I want to share that for the past few months we have been evaluating additional types of badges that I believe we will be offering for 2026 (which will be Feb 27-28 March 1st)… We simply could not begin to create/manage them through the new site this year… but we have time to get them all planned and mapped out for next year.

1. Age 12 and under was always FREE onsite $2.00 USD pre-reg since TTE charges us for the badge

2. Adding, age 13-17 is $5.00 USD Pre-reg or onsite

3. Spouse or significant other (that you have somehow convinced CincyCon is a Date Night or Date weekend) is FREE on site or $2.00 USD pre-reg since the TTE Site charges us for all Pre-reg badges(plus they would be able to pre-reg for events and such) No restriction on if they game or not and we couldn't police it anyways since our staff is way to freaking busy… keeping in mind this will be for first time attendees only!

4. Sunday will be FREE onsite and $2.00 USD Pre-reg (again since we have to pay for TTE badges and you can pre-reg for events)

5. We will probably be returning to single day and weekend badges along with Tournament badges which will be the same costing as a weekend badge. In order to participate in any of our really great tournaments you will need to purchase a tournament badge- not a day badge. All badges will have a $5.00 USD discount for Pre-reg and we will not be increasing our Weekend Badge Prices.

We will not have any type of FREE shopping badge… I honestly could not be more against it! Our show cost over $21,000 USD to present and if you attend our show in any capacity you will be part of a fantastic entertainment experience, meet a ton of really nice people, maybe/probably build new life lasting relationships, possibly say high to some old friends, see the presentation of really inspiring games and vendor products… the list goes on and on! For what we offer and present I am asking for you to contribute back into the pot just like everyone else… Keeping in mind I have already told you how to get in for FREE :)

As for the health of our show… We have been hovering around 800-900 attendees each of the last 3 years… That is counting each individual person only once regardless of how many days you attend. Our vendor spots have been sold out all 3 years.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for supporting us this year and all of the incredibly kind comments you said through the weekend to myself and our staff. So many of you made it a point to say goodbye to myself and my daughters over in the concessions as you left and that felt really great! Looking very forward to seeing you again in 2026

Jim Fox
CincyCon Convention Manager
The Gamers of Ohio, Indiana, and Northern Kentucky Treasurer

I was there all 3 days with 2 of my pals, we all had a great time!!

Thanks Jim and the CincyCon staff!!

Dave

As a former convention organizer, I like to point out that dinner and a movie for two will cost $60 USD plus, so an entire weekend event is not unreasonable. What is a round of golf? A day on the lake with a boat is way more expensive. This can be a cheap hobby . Wargame shows are not expensive for what you get. If you are just going to do a little shopping and a quick look around, just use the internet. Now we did permit just shopping only attendees, but the organizers can do as they like, they are the ones risking the money.

Jim – thanks for that great post! Looking forward to next year and seeing what y'all do with the pricing!